Definition of Domestic Violence
Domestic violence goes by many names: wife abuse, marital assault, spouse abuse, wife beating, battering, intimate violence, and so forth. In addition to different terms or labels, there are varying definitions of domestic violence. A clinical or behavioral definition of the problem is different from and more comprehensive than the legal definition. In Florida, however, domestic violence is legally defined as:

Statutory Definition
F.S. 741.28 Domestic Violence
(1) “Domestic Violence” means any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another who is or was residing in the same single dwelling unit.

(2) “Family or Household Member” means spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are presently residing together or who have resided together in the past as a family, and persons who have a child in common regardless of whether they have been married or have resided together at any time.

(See F.S. 741.28 in Appendix)

Behavioral Definition
Domestic violence refers to a wide variety of behaviors used by individuals, mostly men *, to exert power and control over their intimate partners or former partners. Domestic violence includes physical and sexual assault, behaviors which are criminal and can be reported to police and prosecuted in the courts.

But not all battering is physical. Battering includes psychological abuse, emotional abuse, economic/financial abuse, legal abuse, threats to and about children, using “male privilege,” intimidation, isolation, coercion, financial control, and many other behaviors which, while not criminal acts, do reinforce control over the victim.

While many of the actions described above are also committed by strangers, domestic violence is distinguished from battering by strangers in that the abuse is a pattern of conduct, as opposed to isolated events.

 
* Although women may abuse their partners, it is estimated by FBI reports that between 90-95% of victims of domestic violence are women. Same sex domestic violence in lesbian and gay couples is also a recognized problem. For the purpose of this manual, however, we will define perpetrators as men and victims as women.